I guess it was a success because Ile de France sent me some more free cheese. This time, a large piece of goat cheese and the chance to submit my recipe for a chance to win $1,000! Free cheese and a chance to win some cash? Yes please. So, I invited my photographer friend and co-worker Augi and his wife Meli (one of my homeys from high school) over for goat cheese tartlets.

I made a simple tart crust, which I stuffed into mini-muffin tins for appetizer-sized tartlets. Because I couldn’t decide on just one filling, I made five. And it can’t hurt my chances in this contest, right? Here were the 5 finalists:

The point here is that you can have fun with the fillings and the possibilities are endless. Each were tasty little bites and my guest photographer snapped away while I cooked and sipped from a Red Hook ESB. A perfectly relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Goat Cheese Tartlets, 5 Ways

For the Tart Crust – from Epicurious
Note: I doubled the recipe and it worked beautifully. Just make sure you flatten the dough out pretty well before you chill.

Blend flour and salt in processor with dough blade attachment. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and cream. Process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

Tarlet Prep:

Roll the dough out until it’s thin but not paper thing, then either rip pieces off with your hands or cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter and stuff them into greased mini-muffin tins. Experiment with the first one until you get the right fit. Line all of your muffin tins. The tart crust recipe above will yield about 25 tartlets, depending on the size of your tin and how thinly you roll the dough out. You can also just make 1 big tart in a tart pan.

Preheat the oven to 375° and prep your filling(s). I’m providing some recipes for fillings below, but these should be loose recipes – play with the measurements and fillings yourself. Have fun with this!

Roast the figs by preheating the oven to 400Â°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and de-stem the figs, then halve them and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the sugar and black pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the figs caramelize and are soft the whole way through. Remove from oven and let cool. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.

Heat a small pan over medium-low heat (about 4 or 5) and add the butter and onions. Sautee until they turn soft and are just beginning to brown, about 15 – 20 minutes, then add the sugar. Continue to cook until the onions turn deeply golden, another 10 minutes or so.

These were absolutely delicious. We had a gastronomical time at your place! The butternut Squash tartlet is not pictured because it was delicious and they did not survive the first wave of frenzied fingers attacking them before i decided to take pictures and stop stuffing my face.

Love figs, love goat cheese! If you get more free cheese, try this: stir in some Lavender Dressing from (www.montebellokitchens.com)and chop up a little fennel for flavor, texture and color and add it to the cheese as well. Stunning flavor, easy to make and the dressing is sweetened with organic agave nectar so it is healthier for you! Always have a small loaf of goat cheese and a bottle of lavender dressing on hand and you have an instant, slightly exotic appetizer ready at a moment’s notice!